Zia's Return: The Chase is On!

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Nar Shaddaa
Spaceport 001
1721 Hours, Galactic Standard
Herrith Hendarsin
@The Captain @Darasuum @One For Sorrow

Herrith readjusted the armor below her jacket and sighed, staring at her datapad screen for a few moments more before tucking it away under her jacket. What stood before her was a supposedly unused warehouse, which was proven very used due to the movement inside, and the occasional sparks from what was likely a welder. She checked the time. A few more minutes till her friends were supposed to arrive. Or more specifically, one friend. She hadn't received a response from either Zoonn Kaban or Chiffon, so she assumed they were busy...or dead. The circumstances likely had nothing to do with her quest to find out the Zia's story, but she was edging on the safe side with her armor.

These two new guys could be risky, too. She knew almost nothing about them. But then again, the same went for the Echani and Nautolan. Risks were necessary. And they were willing to work for credits, so that was a bonus. It also seemed like they were charging a far more reasonable price, too, with respect to her two former companions.

They were getting close, Herrith felt it. Just a few more hells to get through.

 

[Grimem Va'telarum]

Grim walked towards the location he had been told to meet at, pulling out his datapad to make sure he was in fact in the right place. As he looked up and put it away he saw a bright pink individual fiddling with her armor. Fits the description. he thought to himself, adjusting his bandoleer and back holster as he approached.

"Herrith right?" he said as he reached her, "Grimem Va'telarum. Though, I dont suppose you're expecting any other Bothans." he chuckled. Pulling his goggles over his eyes and zooming them in on the warehouse to try and get a peek inside. "Thought you said this place was abandoned." he stated. Not upset or anything, just observing. "Informants just aren't reliable anymore huh?" he adde, un-zooming his goggles before sliding them back up onto his forehead.

From the message he had gotten about this job it seemed he was here to replace someone that had originally been helping Herrith with this endeavor, not uncommon in his line of work really. And he had to admit he was looking forward to seeing the legendary ship. "So the guy I'm replacing, he didn't die doing this did he?" he joked with another chuckle to halp the time pass as they waited for the rest of the group.

 

[Tecov Skirata]

__________

THEME​

Back on Nar Shaddaa. The man was visiting the planet more than he wanted to but it seemed it was a better option that going to the feigned civility of the core worlds. He approached the meeting point, a cigarette hanging between his lips, the ember occasionally coming to light as he closed the distance at a casual pace. His helmet was down and surrounding his neck like a large collar The smooth rounded surface of his personalized hippeus protective kit's helmet not visible for the time being due to it's lowered and passive position. Teco left his terrex speeder bike a block away though he kept it in mind if he needed to make a quick escape.

For the time being he was fully kitted out with his standard load out of equipment. His face showed to be blank and indifferent, reflecting the fact he had become so jaded by past events that whatever he was doing here was probably nothing new. Letting out a particularly large gust of smoke stopped close by Herrith. Another had only just arrived it would seem and as he spoke Tecov just stood in silence, letting the nicotine enter and exit his lungs periodically.

 

[Daesha Keever]

Zoonn and Chiffon were AWOL, most likely dead given how dangerous this line of work could be, and regardless their absence had forced Herrith to bring in two mercenaries for the latest chapter of their hunt for the Zia. The notes on the discarded datapad had led Herrith and company to this supposedly abandoned warehouse on Nar Shadda, which given the sounds of machinery and the flashes of welding sparks most likely wasn't abandoned anymore. At least Herrith and the others were here, a large and grizzled looking Bothan standing with a human trailing cigarra smoke, the mercenaries Herrith brought on this job. Hopefully they would be worth the expense and the risk of bringing two people motivated by cash on a mission to retrieve some very valuable materials.

"I see I'm late to the party." Daesha said, breaking the ice as she moved in with the rest of the group. "What's the plan, boss?"

@Herrith @Darasuum @One For Sorrow

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith watched as a Bothan dressed in combat gear walked up and introduced himself as Grimem, immediately scanning the warehouse in question. It was good that she had happened to hire people that took initiative on this stuff. She chuckled slightly at his lighthearted comment and nodded to the second person to arrive, the human merc that had been brought on to the job. The Zeltron couldn't agree with his smoking, but according to his records he was fairly experienced.

"Mind if I call you Grim for the sake of brevity? Would hate trying to spell out your full name only to have you get shot," she smiled and then turned her head to the human. "You must be Tecov Skirata. Thanks for coming. I know this isn't exciting like a lot of things the two of you are used to."

Daesha showed up soon after, immediately starting conversation. This was definitely awkward to say the least; they'd been with the other two for a while before, and the sudden switch was going to take a bit to get used to. However, it was fine. As long as the two mercs could hold their own in a fight, which their credentials told her that they could, they were welcome. Because this was probably going to be a bit of a fight, this small warehouse.

"Well, first off Daesha, I'd call you the boss normally. Not sure if I like that title. But the plan, if you remember when we took that large warehouse way back when, is to do the same, but on a smaller scale. That pad you spotted while I was pissed off kind of gave up a whole lot of locations. I'm hoping the Morellian is here."

She figured it was a good idea to give some context to the mercs.

"So, essentially, a Morellian with some information that I currently am searching for ran out on us on Ankhural. Don't know why, but he's got to know something. Hence why we're raiding this warehouse. I hope you guys run fast or shoot straight, because we're going to have to do a bit of both. I'd prefer to take the guy alive and unharmed, but if you absolutely feel like he's about to kill you, or he is going to kill you, then go ahead and shoot him. But please try to aim for a nonlethal area, though I get that it's a spur of the moment thing when someone has a blaster pointed at you. I don't know numbers of people inside, so we're going to have to be cautious about this. The Morellian I'm talking about might run, so keep an eye out for a red-haired tall-looking humanoid with a brown duster coat."

It was a lot of information, there were bound to be questions. A smile came on her face.

"Any questions? If not, we can get right to shooting stuff."

@One For Sorrow @Darasuum @The Captain

 

[Grimem Va'telarum]

Grim chuckled at Herrith's asking to use a nickname for him. "Nope, don't mind at all. Most people call me that really, though I think you're the first to actually ask permission when I haven't flat out said the nickname." already he could tell he was going to like Herrith. Then a human came along reeking of smoke. The Bothan crinkled his nose at the stench as Herrith spoke to the man.

Then a Twi'lek woman approached and spoke to Herrith asking about the plan, now that they were all together they could get the party going.

"Got it. Don't kill the morellian. No questions. Tell me where you want me and I'll go set up ol' silence." he said, fondly patting the stock of his Ikenga over his shoulder.

@Darasuum @The Captain @Herrith

 

[Tecov Skirata]

__________

Watching the others move about and be friendly did not change the man's expression. When his client, the pink skinned woman approached him and apologized for her perception of his feelings he said nothing. His inner monologue though had still spoke though but they would never hear it. Don't take it personally. Not a lot excites me anymore these days. He took another drag on his vice. The rest the woman said was a brief run down on the situation which only got another puff of smoke from Tecov. He had no questions.

 

[Daesha Keever]

"Sweep and clear, don't shoot the Morellian, that shouldn't be too hard." Daesha didn't mind being called boss, nor did she mind calling the person in charge of this operation boss either. After all, Herrith was the one organizing this job and calling the shots in the field, Daesha was just here to back her up if things went wrong. As for the plan itself Daesha saw no problem with it, if this guy was on the run then breaking in and just grabbing him was probably their best bet to catch him. Maybe not their safest bet, or their smartest, but if they ventured nothing then they'd gain nothing.

"I think we're all set boss, let's get this party started."

@Herrith @One For Sorrow @Darasuum

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith smirked as Grim fondly gripped his rifle and asked where to post up. No questions, which was surprising. Maybe hired guns weren't so bad, if she had the credits for them, of course. And due to recent events, she did have a bit of a surplus to spend on high-quality requisitioning such as these two. And Daesha was just here for a friend, maybe a few credits on the side for getting shot. Probably. Unless they weren't friends and Herrith was delusional. To be determined. Anyways, the human merc seemed to be proficient as well, though lacking the sense of humor the Bothan possessed, which was fine. Professionalism was okay, especially if this guy was as good as she thought. And Daesha was, well, ready as usual. Right...planning and tactics. Fun. It didn't suit her, but who the hell cared. Not like she was planning a military operation.

"Alright, Grim, I personally would leave you to your own opinions on where to go, however this vantage point does offer view over the warehouse's northern entrance and a few alternate ways inside and out. Hell, you could even post up with us as we breach and take a position on the roof looking inside. But I'll leave it up to your expertise, in the end."

She returned her attention to Skirata and Mrs. Keever.
"We'll get down there, scout it out with eyes from Grim and decide where to enter from there. If we get separated, keep in touch through comlinks. In case he decides to make a break for it. With no other questions, let's get going and get you guys some credits."

Without further stalling, she readied her weapons and then set off for the warehouse.

***

The perimeter was mostly undefended, due to the building supposedly being "abandoned", save for a chain link fence to keep out even the toughest of adversaries and invaders. They surely would never be able to breach chain link fences. The mission was over. They were doomed! It was all for nothing! Unless the group knew how to climb, of course.

@One For Sorrow @Darasuum @The Captain

 

[Grimem Va'telarum]

Grim nodded as his employer laid out plans and details, between Daesha and Herrith they had two good heads on their team. The human was quiet, uncharacteristically so going by the Bothan's knowledge of the species. But Grim figured the guy had his reasons.

He looked around and picked a rooftop far enough from the warehouse that he would be harder to detect but close enough that if they needed him inside he could get there quick enough.

He took "Silence" off his back and ectended the bipod before laying flat on his belly and looking through the scope as his allies approached the target building.

"In position a ways back from ya, have eyes on the warehouse. I promise not to hit you when kark hits the fan."

He said into his wrist communicator. Communication was going to be important with them split up like this, and up on this roof looking down the barrel of his rifle he was in his element.

@Darasuum @The Captain @Herrith

 

[Tecov Skirata]

__________

After Grim was in position Tecov would make sure the area both on the closest side of the fence and the far side were clear. Once that was done he would get a starting run from a safe point of view and then make a dash for the fence. At the fence he would not so gracefully cross it but at least it was faster than a climb up and over. It would help if he had jump boots or rocket boots but neither were owned by the man.

Landing on the other side he resumed his traversing of the open area and stack himself against the wall. His weapon in hand he waited until the others made their way across. He kept the weapon up and ready for anybody that might come into view of the others that were following him. He was fine taking point, better than being stuck behind someone slower than him.

 

[Daesha Keever]

A reasonable plan, and once Grim was in place Daesha and company made their way over to the fence to climb in, finding the yard shockingly unguarded. Considering how all of their operations to this point had gone, she kept a sharp eye out for anyone that might be hiding in the shadows waiting to ambush them, or any hidden surveillance equipment. As they reached the fence itself, Tecov made a comical and narrowly successful attempt to clear the fence, one that nearly blew their cover both for the rattle of the fence under his leap and Daesha having to stifle her laughter. She was a bit more successful in clearing the fence, straddling the top of the fence and holding down a hand to Herrith so they could both climb over the fence faster.

@Herrith @One For Sorrow @Darasuum

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Grim was in positiin, Tecov, Daesha, and her were moving for the warehouse, and things seemed to be looking grand. The plan, if you could call it that, was decently laid out and well done. Morale was bolstered, especially when Tecov nearly ate fodder pulling himself over the fence looking like an elderly man trying to scale an obstacle. Even Daesha could hardly keep her composure, and the Zeltron let herself giggle quietly, scaling the fence with the assistance of Daesha. She pulled the Twi'lek after and apologized to Tecov with a smile and a very low whisper, stacking against the wall as well.

Just another bonus to this whole thing. The sound of machinery was very evident from within, and previous inspection of the flashing feeds of light sounded like a welder of some sort. So the warehouse looked abandoned from the outside, but was very inhabited and used on the insixe. Good trick. The relatively lax outer security meant that you could probably bet that the interior was well-armed, or at worst quick to fleeing. Herrith lifted her wrist to her mouth and whispered to Grim, letting him know they were all ready. Tecov taking point, admirable from a hired gun.

"Let's kick it off."

 

[Grimem Va'telarum]

Grim watched the others getting into position, chuckling to himself as Tecov almost ate it on the way over the fence. He made sure to pan along with the scope of his rifle to make sure nobody took the rest of them unawares.

Once they were all there and Herrith gave the order to kick things off it was go time. Grim lined up his crosshairs with the head of the guard by the door nearest to the three and exhaled slowly as he squeezed the trigger.

KAPEW

The guards head was suddenly not there anymore and with the sounds of the machines inside it was unlikely thst anyone would have heard the show from as far away as he was, though the rest ofnthe group would obviously have to work quickly to deal with the body and anyone who had seen the man fall.

He put his fingers to his left ear as he used his ear comm and stood.

"Officially kicked off, moving to join you."

He quickly returned his rifle to it's back holster and began running along the rooftops, his coat flapping behind him as he went. It was gonna take him a couple minutes to join them but he figured they were capable enough to handle things.

@Darasuum @Herrith

 

[Tecov Skirata]

__________

He ignored the apology. Those that thought he looked foolish had obviously never gotten shot off an obstacle. The blaster bolt the chest was bad but falling on the flat of your back was far worse than looking a little odd crossing the fence. It was more foolish in his book to get shot off the fence while trying to look composed than it was to simply cross the obstacle and make it to a safe position.

He had held the position and waited patiently for the others to come beside him along the outer wall of the warehouse. They took their time but now it was his turn to do what he did best. He sliced the door open and brought his Xiuh blaster rifle to bear, moving with swift assurance. One enemy, weapon in hand, Tecov depressed the trigger twice. Two shots hit the man in the head. He had barely started to fall when Tecov swept to the right. Another, a look of surprise on his face even from behind his cheap glasses. Another two shots, enemy down, falling back on a fold out table making it collapse under the sudden weight. Finally the third was able to raise his weapon in time but Tecov had not stopped moving. He fired another two shots. A blaster bolt zipped past Tecov's left shoulder and hit the wall behind him where he had been a moment ago. The goon was just not tracking well enough and that cost him his life. A smoking hole in his head forced the corpse to slump to the ground. Only the Morellian remained somewhere in the warehouse. Tecov went to partial cover, waiting to see if he ran out.

@Herrith @The Captain @One For Sorrow ​

 

[The Storyteller]

"Get those damn parts finished--I want to be outta here by happy hour!"

The Morellian looked over the warehouse with a distasteful grimace and a bottle of gin in hand. The guards surrounded the mostly forced workers, establishing a perimeter. There hadn't been too many incidents that needed something to get shot--yet. Ankhural had been something he thought he could retreat to...but that damned Zeltron and her group had stirred up some trouble. He needed to fall back here, ship out some illegal parts for some more credits. It pissed him off, and he just wanted to get the hell out of here before something else happened.

Of course, things never went to plan. A door got kicked open, and two guards had the sense to investigate before they were cut down with precision. At this point in time he noticed that his last hired gun, atop the same balcony he stood on, had fallen over the railings, missing most of his head. He cursed under his breath and tossed the bottle at the leading intruder before taking off, sailing through an emergency door on the second floor while the workers inside began to frantically exit the building as quickly as possible.

Damn...who the hell are these people?

Left behind in the warehouse? Ship components, illegally modified.

The Zia may have been the trial vehicle, but it certainly wasn't the slowest--or the only one of its kind.

 

[Herrith Hendarsin]

Herrith came in second as Tecov cleared house, looking up while who she recognized as their Morellian took off out of the warehouse. She cursed, kicking over a storage shelf with some effort that managed to make it onto the railing of the upper platform. The Zeltron ran up the shelf like some kind of makeshift ladder from hell, bypassing the actual ladder leading up to the top as the emergency door closed in front of her. Kriff it, he was on the move already. She knocked through the door and nearly fell over the side of the fire escape, catching herself on the rusted steel.

Their Morellian was already on the ground, running down the alley.
"What the hell, man.."

She pulled out her comlink and spoke to Tecov and Grim, sliding down the railing to the first landing before hopping over the side and onto the ground.
"Kriffing keetar freg took off down an alley. Grim, see if you can get eyes on him--Tecov, steal a speeder or something, try to cut him off a few streets down. I'll try to keep him moving, maybe cause him to trip up."

Herrith had been running in these alleys for years. She was confident she could run him down. He was fast, but a speeder was probably faster than him.


An old speeder from when Nar Shaddaa had some kind of justice system was parked in the corner of the warehouse, and functional, albeit with some graffiti and modifications. That, or there were plenty of other options around here. But nothing wrong with some nostalgia, after all.

Spoiler: OOC

Boop. Do whatever, your choice!

@One For Sorrow @Darasuum

 

[Grimem Va'telarum]

Grim heard Herrith in his ear as he hit the roof of the warehouse, continuing to the edge and seeing the Morellian on his run down the alley.

"I love it when they're too stupid to zig-zag."

He muttered to himself as he whipped his rifle off his back and threw himself down, using the lip of the roof for support imstead of taking the time to set up the bipod.

It being a relatively long alleyway the Morellian was still well within range when Grim lined up his crosshairs with the back of his quarry's left knee.

KAPEW

The bolt flew from the barrel and half a second later the Morellian was screaming on the ground and clutching at the singed and slightly beleeding stump where the high powered blaster rifle had amputated his lower leg.

He stood and slung his rifle in its holster on his back, putting his hand to his ear to use his comms again.

"Well he won't be runnimg the last leg of this race."

He took his hand away and fired his grapple line onto the lip of the roof to swing down.

"Why did I think that would be funny?"

He muttered to himself as he retracted his line and drew his modified Sarzen DB-70 amd began to walk towards their crippled prey.

@Darasuum @Herrith

 

[Tecov Skirata]

__________

He could chase after the last man, the Morellian but the Zeltron was already after him. He moved back outside the way they had come in and went around the outside in time to see a worried looking yuppy and his chauffeur on the other side of the street. Shooting the lock on the fence that separated them Tecov moved across the street towards them. The chauffeur was the smarter of the two and immediately held his hands up. A hoodlum that had been likely selling drugs to the yuppy ran away down another alley, probably with his street smarts knowing nothing good could come from the large man approaching the kessel runner.

"What do you think your doing?" The young business man said in disbalief like his words were going to change Tecov's actions. "Commandeering this vehicle." He said as if it were not obvious while keeping his weapon well within eyesight of both individuals as he entered and vehicle. By the time the door to the driver side of the air speeder closed he was already accelerating away from the two men. During this time he had received the communicae from Herrith but did not need to respond. He was already on it.

The speeder knocked over a trash container and made light debris fly up in its wake along the narrow alley ways. Turn, turn again, and there he cut off the escape route. The morellian was running towards him as he was at the far end of the alley way but then he got hit by one of Grim's blast bolts, falling just a dozen meters from Tecov. The Mandalorian exited the recently stolen vehicle and grabbed his blaster from the navigator seat. First he kicked aside the man's weapon and then patted him down to see if he had anything else that was a threat or identifying him. Other than that he waited, watching the man squirm in pain.

@Herrith @One For Sorrow​

 

[The Storyteller]

He could run. He could make it. Just a little bit longer...and he'd lose the people trying to kill him...come on...faster...

A speeder pulled up in front of him and he soon found that he was missing a leg. Well, there went that plan. The pain appeared a moment later as he fell, clutching the spot where he used to have an entire lower part of a leg. The Morellian cried out in pain, reaching for his weapon only to find it getting kicked away by the...thing which had caused the chase to start. He rolled onto his back and groaned again while more footsteps and accompanying speech came from down the alley.

A Bothan, presumably the person that had shot off his leg by the oversized rifle located on his back, approached, a gnarly looking weapon held in hand. These two didn't look like anything the Hutts would send...or the various other freelance organizations looking to kill him. Who were they?
"Damn you! Took off my damned leg! Kriff!"

Of course, his pursuer had yet to be revealed. There were three...that's right. Three.